But it was Ebb’s voice on the other side of my door. “Are you all right, milady?”

“Ebb.” My voice broke on her name. “I can’t believe he killed Lady Melina.”

“I’m so sorry. I know she was a friend.”

I thought of how Talin had said she had no friends, but she’d been more loyal than my own mother had. I wiped my tears away and peered at Ebb through the tiny barred window in the door. “What are you doing down here? Ceren will kill you if he finds out.”

She shook her head. “The guards know me. I come to the dungeons sometimes to visit my brother.”

“Your brother? But I thought...”

“I said he was here in the mountain, yes. He used to work for the king, but when Ceren took over, he had my brother locked up for conspiracy. There were never any formal charges.”

“Then how did you get a position here?”

“I used a different surname. Ceren had never seen me before, so he had no reason to think I was related to Aro. That’s my brother.”

“You took the job so you could be close to him?”

Ebb nodded. “I never imagined I would be so lucky to work for a mistress as kind as you.” She placed her fingertips on the edge of the window, and I covered them with mine. “I went to find Grig as soon as I heard Lady Melina’s claim that Prince Ceren had murdered Queen Talia. In my heart, I knew it was true, and that someone had to fetch Prince Talin as quickly as possible. He never would have stood for you being locked up if he’d been here.”

“Thank you, Ebb,” I breathed. “If he hadn’t come back when he did, I would be dead.”

“I don’t believe Prince Ceren ever intended to kill you, milady,” she said quietly. “His lookouts reported that Prince Talin was returning, and because the king was dead, he knew he had to find some way to claim the throne without fighting his brother for it.”

“What way?” I asked, dread creeping up my spine.

She was quiet for a moment. “Prince Talin gave up the throne to save your life.”

A chill passed over my entire body at her words. “No.”

Somewhere in the distance, a door clanged shut, followed by the low rumble of male voices. “I should go, milady. Prince Talin will come for you in the morning. It’s going to be all right.”

“How?”

She squeezed my hand. “Just trust me, milady.”

“Thank you, Ebb.” My voice broke again, and tears filled my eyes. “For everything. I couldn’t have survived here without your friendship.”

She smiled and kissed my fingers. “Neither could I.”

* * *

I was dreaming of my sister again when something startled me from my sleep. I bolted upright, hand already at my boot, and peered into the darkness.

“I’m glad to see you were able to get some rest,” Ceren said, his voice close. Too close. “You look beautiful when you sleep.”

Where was his torch? How could he possibly see me in the inky darkness?

“My vision is poor in the daylight,” he said, once again gleaning my thoughts without me having to voice them. “But I can see quite well in the dark.”

I slowly drew my hand away from my boot, afraid I would give the knife’s presence away.

“I can hear well in the dark, too. It’s how I knew you were following me down to the lake that night. Your heart is beating so fast right now, like a bird’s. Are you afraid of me, Nor?”

His breath brushed against my cheek, and I shrank away from it. He was in the cell with me. How had I not heard him come in? The guards had unbound me when they tossed me back in the cell, but without light, I would be a fool to try to stab Ceren. I’d just as likely end up stabbing myself. The idea that he could see me while I couldn’t see him made me tremble.

Something soft brushed my arm and I lunged forward, toward where I hoped the door was. But Ceren’s arms circled my chest before I’d gone two feet, closing around me like a steel trap. “Shhhh,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m going to set you free, little bird.”

“What are you talking about?” I breathed.

He stroked a finger against my cheek. “Did you really think I’d have you killed? That I would waste such beauty, such strength? When I heard my brother would be here in time for the duel, I had no choice but to use you as bait.”

“And now?” I said through gritted teeth.

“Now I’m here to offer you a bargain.”

I scoffed. “A bargain? Didn’t you already make a deal with your brother?”

His warm chuckle made me shudder. “Everything has always come so easily to my brother. Strength, kinship, women. But you were never meant to be his.” Ceren loosened his grip to reach for something, and I took the opportunity to go for my knife. But before I could free it from my leather boot, he lit a torch that illuminated the entire cell, revealing just how disgusting my living conditions were.

He held a crown in front of him like an offering, a crown unlike anything I’d ever seen.

It was made of blood coral, raw and red, twisting and tangling to form a circlet. Studded among the coral branches were bright pink Varenian pearls that gleamed in the torchlight. The contrast between them was startling, yet stunning. I’d never seen them together before, and the sight took my breath away.

I’d always thought of the blood coral as sinister and ugly, but next to the pearls, it no longer looked menacing. It was beautiful, I realized, the perfect complement to the smooth pink spheres.

Nor and Zadie. Coral and pearl.

Powerful and beautiful because of each other, not in spite of each other.

He handed me the crown. “Take it, Nor. It belongs to you.”

I gasped. “What? Where did you get this?”

“Ilara’s mother had it made from the blood coral that grew from her daughter’s heart. It’s never been worn, because no woman, Ilarean or Varenian, was deemed worthy of it. But you are different, my darling.”

I turned the crown in my hands. The coral wasn’t poisonous dead, Father had said. Only if it broke the skin could it inflict any damage. I ran my fingers over the pearls, some of the pinkest and most lustrous I’d ever seen. I couldn’t help imagining what all the girls in Varenia would think if they saw something so rare.

“Why are you offering me this?” I asked finally.

“I’m giving you the chance to be the queen of Ilara. Marry me, and I won’t harm your people. I will have everything I need right here in New Castle. Together, we can face the woman king and any other threats to our kingdom. Our sons will be the strongest and healthiest to have ever ruled. We can conquer the world together, Nor.”